Our week in the forest...

School is out for two weeks so this means the start to our Easter Holiday Camp! How exciting it is to be greeted each day by faces old and new. This mixture of children meeting the forest anew and our regular explorers taking the role of leaders has created a real buzz around camp.

We have enjoyed a lot of Easter themed activities this week, which has also been reflected in our artwork. We made egg-shaped leaf prints using Gelli printing plates, rollers, acrylic paint and leaves to print onto watercolour paper. The children were excited to explore this new activity and its results were magically revealed as the children peeled back their print from the printing plate. Some of the children chose to make their creations as Easter presents for their mums and dads. We also tried our hand at stitching and made felt Easter egg decorations, the process and the product were both a huge success!

Collaborative play occurs a lot during holiday camps. This week we have tried out a number of fun games and activities including egg and spoon races, ‘pin the tail on the rabbit’ and made traps for giants. With the presence of some older children, we have seen the younger ones excel due to the modelling of different play and language from their older peers. We have also explored many different cultures, countries and languages with our group. The children have been teaching their educators and friends different languages including Chinese, Russian and Italian. It was fantastic to hear all of the different family backgrounds the children have and to see the children proud to speak about their family culture and community.

Our children are constantly challenging themselves and this week one young engineer asked an educator if he could make a ladder from rope. With some help from the educator, the child successfully made their very own, fully functioning rope ladder and impressively climbed independently to their educator’s eye level with a proud smile. The children never fail to amaze and impress us with their determination and capability.

Alongside the beautiful weather, we have had a truly glorious week making new friends. We look forward to our second week of Holiday Camp and seeing what more fun can be had in the forest.

Roast Chicken with cous cous Whole chickens are roasted in the oven, stuffed with garlic and rubbed all over with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Cooked slowly until the meat is falling off the bones. A tomato and red pepper sauce is cooked slowly on the hob with garlic and plenty of mixed herbs. Then the roasted chicken is mixed with cous cous and the tomato and sweet red pepper sauce poured over the top.

Team update:

We are delighted that Jo has joined the team this week as Third in Charge.

Jo has over 20 years experience working in Early Years, she is passionate about children's health and well-being and believes outdoor play and taking risks plays a massive part in good personal, social and emotional development and mental health